Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals were worth $475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MDGL. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,364 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 131.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 118 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 340.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,087 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 4,704 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $16,615,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 166.2% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 2,282 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 4.2%

Shares of MDGL stock opened at $334.13 on Monday. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $200.63 and a 1 year high of $377.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $291.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $312.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 5.91 and a quick ratio of 5.58. The company has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.51 and a beta of -1.05.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($3.32) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.62) by $0.30. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 123.38% and a negative return on equity of 50.54%. The company had revenue of $137.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $112.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($7.38) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -23.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MDGL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $394.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $441.00 to $458.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $443.00 target price on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $460.00 target price (up from $422.00) on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $420.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

In other Madrigal Pharmaceuticals news, Director Rebecca Taub sold 2,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.41, for a total value of $931,039.37. Following the sale, the director owned 461,044 shares in the company, valued at $161,554,428.04. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul A. Friedman sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.48, for a total transaction of $946,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 187,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,597,238.72. The trade was a 1.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 57,977 shares of company stock worth $20,476,927. Corporate insiders own 21.50% of the company’s stock.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Profile

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of therapeutics for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in the United States. Its lead product candidate is resmetirom, a liver-directed thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for treating NASH.